Ex-Indiana basketball player alleges abuse by Bob Knight in book

Former Indiana basketball player Todd Jadlow says his former coach Bob Knight physically and emotionally abused him and his teammates.

Former Indiana basketball player Todd Jadlow says that his former coach Bob Knight physically and emotionally abused him and his teammates during his time with the team.

Jadlow makes his claims in his recently published book Jadlow: On The Rebound, which details his struggles with drug and alcohol addiction and depression.

Jadlow was a member national championship team in 1987 and says that Knight repeatedly abused players while he was with the Hoosiers.

He gave a few examples of Knight's alleged abuse, including saying Knight punched him in the back of his head with a closed fist before a tournament game, cracked a clipboard over his head during a 1989 game, grabbed him so hard he bruised his side and squeezed him in his groin during a timeout.

"If he did those things today he would be in jail," Jadlow said, according to WTHR.com, "I'm a Knight guy, I'm proud to have played for him and love him like a father. Let's not mistake that. But this was the life we led when we were playing for him."

Jadlow told ESPN on Tuesday that he did not intend to tarnish Knight's reputation when he wrote the book.

"I wrote this book to be honest about my life,'' Jadlow said. "I didn't go into it to demean Coach Knight or put him down. I was just telling stories when I was at IU."

Knight was fired by Indiana in 2000 after 29 seasons and three national championships. He went on to coach seven more seasons at Texas Tech, retiring at the end of the 2007–08 season with 899 career victories. 

– Scooby Axson